The French set out plans to poach some of London's Olympic riches last year, appealing for international athletes to live and train in Calais and pop over to the capital only for the Games. Today came evidence of their success.

Eurotunnel, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, said it had received so much demand for passengers travelling from Calais to the UK during the Olympics that it was spending 4.5 million (£3.9 million) bringing one of its mothballed passenger shuttle trains back into service.

The move will allow it to run five shuttles - each carrying 180 cars - an hour, instead of the current four.

"A lot of Olympic teams have booked journeys, since significant numbers have installed themselves in the region around Calais," said Eurotunnel's John Keefe.

Last year councillors in Pas-de-Calais, on the coast of France, set aside 100 million to campaign for athletes to set up camp in their towns. Dominique Dupilet, head of the local council, said: "We are aiming to make Pas-de Calais one of the training bases for the Olympic teams."

Keefe said equestrian teams had been particularly keen on Eurotunnel services. "We're expecting a lot of horses on Eurotunnel for the Olympics - it's easier than flying. But the soaring oil price will make flights more expensive and attract all kinds of teams to use our electricity-run trains."

Last year Eurotunnel reported a 57 million loss, down from a net profit of 7 million a year earlier, after the cost of servicing its debts rose.